A Time and a Place

by Noel Greg

Dramaturg and Designer: Sofie Layton
Director: Jeff Banks
Choreography: Jane Edwards
Music: Michael Szpakowski

Written by acclaimed playwright, Noel Greg, A Time and a Place was a community production involving local performers which reflected the history of the famous ruined mansion of Copped Hall and the people who live in and around it.

During the play, Herne the Hunter and his Raggletaggle Army pitched their wits against the Stone Courtiers and the Gardeners in a dream-like journey through time itself where past, present and future intermingled. The play revolved around journeys - a journey though the grounds of the hall, journeys through life, journeys into maturity, journeys into death - and cycles - cycles of nature, cycles of birth and death, cycles of regeneration, cycles of redevelopment, cycles of conservation.

My first character, seen here with his wife and son (Pat and Andrew), was a property speculator intent on redeveloping the site - basically a nasty piece of work. Copped Hall was the site of the first performance of Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream. Magic reality formed part of the aesthetic of the play and as we neared the hall itself the characters of Dad and Mother became transformed into evil other-worldly counterparts.

The final part of the play was a battle not only for the conservation of the site but also for the soul of the boy between Herne, a spirit of nature and representative of the gentle and affectionate side of the male psyche, and the Stone Court Lord, representing all that is brittle and locked about men.

Good won out in the end.